Being grateful for everything in my life…. no matter what…

Last night, I was privileged to spend a few hours with a large group of (legal-aged) young adults who were celebrating a friend’s birthday with a party at James River Cellars. It was a night of great music, laughter, fun, and lots of wine and beer. While I wasn’t originally scheduled to work the event, I was surprisingly glad to have been in attendance… if only to be privy to the party-life of a group of young adults.

Truth be told, I had trepidations about how this evening was going to go. As the guest list grew from 75 to 100 people, I had visions of beer bongs, keg stands, and shot-gunned beers along with nightmares of inebriated young men and women needing taxis to get home again. Thankfully, I was totally off base with these people… and I have never been so glad to be wrong.

The evening couldn’t have gone better. The guests had taken the event seriously and were dressed up – the guys looked sharp in khakis, tucked-in-shirts, and blazers while the girls were stunning in beautiful dresses and heels that were higher than I’d seen in ages. Oska, the guest-of-honor, had organized almost everything and relied on friends to participate and make the evening special. There were photos of him alone and with friends/family, there were packs of cards for anyone who wanted to play card games during the night (cuz that’s something Oska likes to do), and a few signs that hinted at fun times and family traditions (Hip, Hip, Hooray!). If you didn’t know Oska well before last night, there were ample opportunities to learn more about him and become part of his inner circle of friends. His parents made the trek from MD for the evening and one of his professors even came for a few hours. It was a wonderful event.

From my point of view, it touched my heart that so many people would take the time to spend a Thursday night during finals to celebrate their friendship with this unique young man. He has created a family of friends who love and support one another in the way that every parent wants for their child. These young people are kind, funny, creative, responsible, and genuine… and I’m so glad I was able to be a small part of something so wonderful.